The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accuses the Chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu,
of overtly playing the script of the Buhari Presidency and the All
Progressives Congress (APC) by declaring governorship elections in
states where the PDP is in clear lead as inconclusive.

Party insists that INEC, under Prof. Yakubu, has become overtly
partisan, surrendered its independence to the APC and carries on as a
compromised umpire with obnoxious impunity, thereby sending signals of
being heavily bribed by the APC to alter results for its candidates.

The PDP has full intelligence of how INEC is acting on instructions from
the Buhari Presidency and the APC in orchestrating unwholesome
situations and declaring already concluded governorship elections in
Sokoto, Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau as well as other states as
inconclusive, immediately it becomes obvious that the PDP was set to
win.

This also informs the foisting of unexplainable stoppage and delays in
the announcement of already collated results in other states where the
PDP is clearly leading the race, from the results so far declared at the
polling units.

Our party has also been informed of how INEC is now seeking ways to use
the situation to aid the APC to alter the results and announce APC
candidates as winners in the elections clearly led by the PDP just as it
did in the 2018 Osun State governorship election.

In some of the states like Rivers, the PDP has information of plots by
APC to leverage on the declaration by INEC to unleash more violence in
the state and push for isolated election where they can bring in more
security forces to concentrate on forcefully taking over the state.

Already, in Rivers State, INEC is under heavy pressure from the Director
General of the Buhari Campaign Organization and Minister of Transport,
Rotimi Amaechi, to post out and replace the State Resident Electoral
Commissioner (REC) as well as the Administrative Secretary.

This will be totally unacceptable, completely provocative and shall be
firmly resisted by the people even if the totality of our nation’s
security is deployed to Rivers State.

This is more so as results of all the state assembly elections in Rivers
state have been declared and winners had emerged.

The PDP cautions Prof. Yakubu and his INEC to perish the thoughts of
altering any figures for the APC and to immediately announce our winning
results in these states and others where our candidates clearly won,
going by the results already declared at the poling units, wards and
local government collation. Anything short of this will attract the
legitimate wrath of the people.

This is because Nigerians are already aware that elections have been
concluded in these states; results have been collated and declared at
the polling units, ward and local government collation centers and all
returning officers and political parties conclusively have the figures.

Prof. Yakubu must have noted how his name is becoming synonymous to
electoral manipulations, among Nigerians, and the fact that our citizens
and international community hold him responsible for the rigging of the
Presidential and other elections for the APC.

Today, majority of Nigerians and the global democratic institutions are
questioning the state of our democracy and electoral processes, which
have been under siege under the supervision of President Buhari and
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

In the light of these INEC’s manipulative tendencies, PDP therefore
charges our leaders, teeming members and lovers of democracy in the
affected states to immediately commence a march to INEC offices and use
all legitimate means to protect our mandate as freely given by the
people at the polling units across the nation.